On a business trip, my husband had just settled into his hotel room when he heard an unusual noise. He stepped into the hall to investigate and heard someone yelling from a nearby room. With the help of a hotel worker, he discovered that a man had become trapped in the bathroom. The lock on the bathroom door had malfunctioned and the man trapped inside started to panic. He felt like he couldn’t breathe and began yelling for help.

Sometimes in life we feel trapped. We are banging on the door, pulling on the handle, but we can’t get free. We need help from the outside, just like the man in the hotel.

To get that outside assistance, we have to admit that we are helpless on our own. Sometimes we look inward for the answers to our problems, yet the Bible says “the heart is deceitful” (Jer. 17:9). In truth, we are often the source of our problems in life.

Thankfully, “God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20). Because of this, He knows exactly how to help us. Lasting heart-level change and real progress with our problems originate with God. Trusting Him and living to please Him means we can flourish and be truly free.

Heavenly Father, I humble myself before You. I can’t solve my problems on my own. Please help me to seek Your help and perspective.

God helps those who know they are helpless.

INSIGHT:

The Bible describes the heart as the very basis of our character—the center of who we are and the source of our thoughts, feelings, and actions (see Prov. 4:23; 23:7). “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jer. 17:9) is the consistent verdict of Scripture. This deceitfulness has made humanity incapable of knowing how sinful we really are, for only God knows the true condition of our heart (2 Chron. 6:30; Ps. 139:1-4; Jer. 17:10). We will not admit we are sinners apart from divine intervention, revelation, and conviction (John 6:65; Rom. 8:7-11; 2 Cor. 4:4). But God will redeem and give a new heart to all who humbly come to Him and accept His grace and mercy (Ps. 51:10; 2 Cor. 5:17).

Today's Shareable Image

Today's Shareable Video

24 But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free. ”

Part of the gift of grace is the power found in trusting Christ to set us free from sin’s prison. This is not to be confused with trying to earn justification, or the prideful thought of using good works to satisfy Our God, but something we desperately need to have an abundant life.

The cure for a deceitful, wicked, and evil heart, death of self, that Christ may live in and through us.

Ezekiel 36:26-27
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you:
and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. KJV

Every person will know about the second coming??? Some people use I Thessalonians 4:16 to point to a secret rapture, LOL, but its one of the noisiest verses in the Bible. The Lord SHOUTS, a TRUMPET BLASTS, and the DEAD ARE RAISED??? Nor is the second coming a spiritual coming into the heart at conversion. It does not take place at a man’s death, nor is it figurative—to be manifested by better world conditions. These theories are all of human origin. The second coming will be a literal, world-end and to reward or punish all men and women. We all go to Heaven together people. “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM” Rev. 1:7. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a SHOUT, with the voice of an archangel, and with the TRUMPET of God. And the DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE FIRST” 1 Thess 4:16. The staggering threefold (Luke 9:26) brightness of His coming will stretch from horizon to horizon, and the atmosphere will be charged with brilliant glory like lightning. No one will be able to hide. Every living soul will be forced to face Christ. Christ left no loophole for doubt or misunderstanding. This will be loud, dramatic even where even the dead are raised.

Good morning ODB forum. This was a wonderful reading for me and I wanted to share- Our troubles should not diminish our faith or disillusion us. Instead, we should realize that there is a purpose in our suffering. Problems and human limitations have the benefits of: 1. Helping us remember Christ’s suffering for us. 2. Helps keep us from pride. 3. Helps us look beyond this brief life. 4. Proves our faith to others. 5. Gives God the opportunity to demonstrate His great power. Don’t resent your troubles…see them as opportunities! 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 states: We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Good word! And, let’s not forget that it’s usually when trials & troubles come that we come out of our self-centered stupor & look to the Lord for help. God, in his love, grace & mercy, always stands ready to give it. Only question is are we wise enough to receive it? God doesn’t help those who help themselves, but rather he helps those who know they’re helpless and are either wise enough or desperate enough to admit it. It strikes me that, as an American, I know about trouble, trials and tribulations; but suffering; really suffering for Christ? Not so much…..but, I believe the day is fast approaching….

What I really wanted to say to add to what elegantstarr had written is that we grow closer to the Lord during our times of trouble & our humility & faith grows stronger as we experience the might, comfort, security, confidence & amazed wonder of his deliverance. How I went from there to writing the comment above, I have no idea….

Thank you for your word on the matter of our suffering. We are to joy in suffering “in Christ’s suffering,” as He took on ALL of our sin debt without a word! What an act of love! One of the blessings of this forum is that we are reminded, by each other, to remember that suffering as a Christian is a badge, to His honor! Be Blessed.

I have a question, and maybe it is a dumb one but since “The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure”, if someone who is an atheist needs a heart transplant and he receives a born
again believer’s heart, will that change his “heart” towards God?

Seeking answers is helpful in our understanding of the Word. God gave us the ability to question because He is our loving Father. I have often said to my children that God could have made us “robot-like” without a free will but He, in all His omnipotence, gave us a sense to “reason.” In this I give Him “thanks” and I become closer to Him as His majesty and glory become more apparent in my walk. Be Blessed.